Pongo Coat Rack

For this project, we tackled the twisted-stick coat rack as a typology (This typology is otherwise known as a reciprocal frame). Our first inclination was to melt and weld these sticks together. Though impractical, it would have been possible to purchase a tree and carve this object out as a solid. Instead we looked to five-axis milling as an operation to ensure three individual sticks could be carved efficiently, shipped efficiently, and still align precisely with mechanical fasteners. Clever spiraling fastener placement allows the single component to attach to itself, instead of requiring variation between the sticks. In doing so, we were faced with the challenge of producing the moment in the design we are most fond of—the belly buttons. These internalized nubs rhetorically call for the bolts. The three sticks wrap around each other in such a way that the bolts align with the neighboring parts, making the assembly a simple task that requires no instruction manual. Custom matte finish.